It Started At The Well

She had come to the well at midday---long after the other women of the village had come and gone. Her steps were weary---almost as weary as her heart. She had spent her life living with one man after another, longing for a happiness that never came, searching for a peace that did not exist. Rejection had become her lifestyle. An outcast had become who she was. No one loved her---no one cared---she didn't matter. So, she came to the well the same way she lived her life---alone and neglected.
He had come to the well by necessity. His journey to Galilee led Him through the town of Sychar in Samaria. He was "...wearied with his journey...", hungry and thirsty. He sat on the well side to rest. Many people had come to Him for healing, deliverance, and salvation---He had met the needs of them all. He had poured out of Himself and given all He had to those who came to Him. Now, He had traveled so far and His body had grown tired. He needed rest, food, and drink.
They met at the wellside---the woman who had no life and the man who was the giver of life. She had given up all hope and He had all hope to give. She knew He was a Jew and speaking to Him was forbidden. He knew she was a Samaritan and needed the words He would speak. Their meeting was not coincidence but, rather, one of Divine destiny. This was her day and He was her salvation.
He asked for water to drink. She was afraid to honor His request. He told her about water that would allow her to never thirst again---living water that would satisfy, not the body, but the thirsting soul instead. A conversation began in which He was revealed as the promised Messiah. At that moment she began drinking from a well that would never run dry. Never again would she have to come to the well that man had made. Never again would she have to worry about what people were saying. She no longer had to seek the approval of men to satisfy the thirst of her soul. She had met the Deliverer and all that she had known before was if it had never existed.
Excitement and joy flooded her very being. A life that had been weary and sad was now exchanged for one of peace and love. Running to the village with the news, she knew she would never be the same. "Come see a man who told me all the things I've ever done..."---and they came. They came and they believed---they believed because of a woman who defied tradition and spoke to a weary man sitting by the well. A woman whose life would witness through the ages of the life changing power of the Man of Galilee. A man called Jesus.
I relate this story today because it tells of a woman who, through faith in Jesus, obtained a new beginning. The old life of sorrow and despair became one of joy and peace---all because of Jesus. As we face a new year, a time of new beginnings, may we all remember the woman of Samaria. May we all be reminded that life is never so dreadful, so unhappy, so unfulfilling, that it cannot be changed by the One who waits at the well. He knows we need Him and His unending supply of salvation and deliverance---and so He waits---waits until we are thirsty for a new life, until we are ready to drink from His well that never runs dry.

"Behold, God is my salvation: I will trust and not be afraid:
For the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; He also is
become my salvation.
Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of
salvation." (Isaiah 12:2 & 3)

I am at the well today, thirsty for more of what He provides, yearning for one more touch of His presence. Come to the life-giving water today and, as He promised, you will never thirst again. New life and a new beginning is not hard to find---it all starts when you come to the well.

In Grace,